1. Health insurance is not optional. About a year ago, a friend of mine was working two part-time jobs and had no insurance. “It’s not a big deal,” she said. “I’m young, and pretty healthy, so I’ve got time.” Uh, no. Think of it this way. If you, God forbid, are diagnosed with cancer right now, while you’re young and free and have no insurance, you’re going to be uninsurable for the rest of your life. If you get in a car accident and end up with a debilitating injury that causes chronic pain and long-term health problems, you’re going to be uninsurable. Not to mention the fact that unless you’re an heiress or you snagged some impossible sweet job right out of college, you can’t afford to pay full price for that stuff. My four-hour trip to the ER with food poisoning would have been more than $1000 between the hospital and the individual physician bills. I ain’t got money for that, yo! Tighten your belt and make it happen. You can’t go without insurance.
2. Annual exams should be annual. Especially since you’re young and your body and hormones are still changing, and particularly if you’re sexually active and have more than one partner, you must, must, must see your gynecologist annually — if for no other reason than to get a renewed prescription for your birth control. And of course you need to get your yearly Pap smear to make sure your cervix is all shiny and cancer free. Also, don’t skimp on the breast self-exams. They’re important, and 20somethings do get breast cancer. Haven’t you read Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy?
3. Sleep deprivation is not cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah, gather ye rosebuds while ye may, make hay while the sun shines, whatever. You need sleep, and you need it every night. Working ridiculous hours to climb the corporate ladder or partying like you’re 18 and can sleep through your first 3 classes is a very expensive health choice. Sleep deprivation damages your immune system, your reaction time, and, if you’re anything like me, your ability to be rational in stressful situations.
4. Smoking is also very uncool. A full 80% of lung cancer cases occur in smokers, not to mention the fact that smoking causes all kinds of nasty health and physical effects. If you want some good reasons to quit, read this Lively Women post and this Healthbolt post. And if you’re not a smoker but you hang out with smokers, you’d better rethink that choice. Secondhand smoke is dangerous, too.
5. Exercise isn’t just for people who want to “get their figures back.” If you start (or keep) exercising now, you’ll enjoy faster metabolism, healthier overall body functioning, better muscle tone, increased endurance, a healthier heart… I could go on for ages. Don’t wait. Now is the perfect time to develop lifelong habits — and it’s easier to do it while you’re younger than to wait until you have another decade or two of bad habits to break.

Now that you know what to do, what are you waiting for? Get healthy today, while you’re young enough to lead a long, healthful existence.

Have some health tips of your own? Share them in the comments!

(Photo credit: Joanne Veerbeek)

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

Post from: Blisstree

5 Critical Health Tips for 20somethings

Still here? Great! Well, first of all, I was stressed because I had to change doctors since we moved and I’m now way too far away from my old OB/GYN office to make the drive. I used to use Planned Parenthood, and this move meant switching to a grown-up doctor. For real adults. Like one my mom would use. How weird. I hadn’t been to one of those since my first visit, back in high school, when my mom insisted that I use her doctor and accompanied me, which, for the record, was beyond awkward.

Aside: This is not to say that there’s anything lacking in the quality or maturity of Planned Parenthood. On the contrary, I was extremely happy with them. And the fact that I knew my questions would be the least interesting ones they got all day made me feel like I could ask or divulge anything and it wouldn’t be uncomfortable. (Not that my sex life has ever been particularly scandalous, mind you. But when you’re a 20something married chick who’s been withe the same guy for years, isn’t pregnant, and has no serious medical issues sitting in a waiting room full of teenage girls and their incredibly uncomfortable boyfriends, you just know you’ll be the most boring client of the day, or maybe even the week. It’s kind of a relief.)

Second, I had therapy right afterward (how’s that for planning?), and after I sat in the waiting room for almost 40 minutes before being called back, I was good and stressed about not making my next appointment. In fact, they were running so far behind (how exactly do you manage to be an hour behind already at 9:30?) that I actually had to call my therapist’s office on my cell phone while in the exam room in my paper vest and sarong combo as I waited for the nurse practitioner to come in and do the exam so I could tell her that I was being held hostage at the gynecologist’s office and might be late for or even miss my appointment. There were no magazines, so instead I read my Pap smear lab request form for about 20 minutes. I don’t want to ruin the ending or anything, but the grand finale is, you guessed it, a Pap smear.

Third, I always dread the assistant’s questions when they first take you into the exam room (that, and getting weighed. Our scale broke like two moves ago and I have never replaced it, so my annual exam is about the only time I weigh myself). I know I’m a hypocrite, but it’s not my fault: I just don’t remember to do my breast self-exam every month. I’m lucky if I remember three times a year. Of course, when I admitted this, I got that motherly disapproving “Tut tut” and a dramatic swish of the pen on my chart. I always feel like crawling under the exam table at that point. But then, when they take my blood pressure (which, incidentally, makes my heart race for some reason), I am redeemed because it’s always very low and they think I’m so healthy that it makes up for being an irresponsible breast owner.

Aside: I wonder how low my bp really is since I start having palpitations the moment they move toward the blood pressure cuff. It’s so bad that I have to tell them to do it once in the beginning and once at a random time during my visit without telling me ahead of time so I don’t have a chance to get anxious about it–but of course my breath gets short as soon as I realize what’s happening.

Fourth, I had to go through my entire medical history before the exam because their fax machine was messed up and they couldn’t receive my records from my old doctor’s office, so I felt like I walked into a surprise midterm in a class I’d never heard of. Yes, someone on my mom’s side had breast cancer, like four generations ago, and somebody on my dad’s side had heart disease, but I’m pretty sure those people died before my parents were even my age, so I have no clue of the specifics. But it’s all in my medical record, which is apparently trapped somewhere in the fascimile netherworld, so who knows?

Fifth, I had to confess that I’ve been so terrible about taking my birth control pills on schedule that I finally stopped taking them altogether and needed to request a different form of birth control that was harder to forget and didn’t involve anything that is progesterone only, which tend to make me gain huge amounts of weight in very short periods of time. And I kind of feel like we’re just a little too old to be buying condoms, you know? (That, plus ever since I tried to open one I don’t even remember how long ago and it shot out of the package and directly into my eye, leaving me half blind and stinging like the dickens, I’ve been kind of afraid of them to tell you the truth. But I digress.)

So, long story short (because believe it or not, this is the short version), I weighed in at 134 lbs fully clothed, managed to get a clean bill of health despite waiting f-o-r-e-v-e-r for my exam, and left with a free month (and a coupon for a free second month!) of NuvaRing, a once-a-month vaginal contraceptive that offers–get this–a free downloadable OR portable timer to remind you when to insert and remove it. Do these people know me, or what?

Now to psych myself up for next year. 360some days should be plenty of time, right?

How do you feel about your annual exam? Any tips? Any horror stories? Leave a comment!

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

Post from: Blisstree

Stayin’ Lively: My 2007 Annual Exam

Here’s who you need to call:

1. Your primary care practioner. You may be surprised to know that PCPs do more than just hook you up with antibiotics when you get strep from the kids or develop a UTI. They also provide preventive maintenance, for lack of a better term. Get a full physical, including a blood work-up, and make sure everything is working the way it’s supposed to.
2. Your ob/gyn. That annual exam really is important! Your doc can answer any questions you may have about stuff that’s going on down there, can remind you of the right way to do your breast self-exam, and provide valuable screening for cancer and sexually transmitted infections — all of which can save your life.
3. Your eye doctor. Even if you hate those glasses, you need to make sure they’re the right prescription, or they can cause lasting damage to your eyes. As we age, our vision changes. That’s why you need to make sure you’re getting an exam at least every 12 months, or more frequently if you notice eye strain or blurred vision.
4. Your dentist. Keep those pearly whites pearly white, and prevent and detect gum disease and all other kinds of lovelies from wreaking havoc in your mouth. And soon, your dental exam might also be an opportunity to screen for osteoporosis and breast cancer!

Now, grab that phone and start making those appointments. And when you’re all done, make one last phone call: to the salon to schedule a pamper session as a reward for your responsible health behavior.

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King

Post from: Blisstree

Time for Your Annual Check-Up!